I am pleased that the Senate has given its consent to ratification
of the Convention on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
In June, I traveled to Geneva for the annual meeting of the
International Labor Organization (ILO), where the business, labor, and
government representatives to the ILO from countries around the world
unanimously adopted this historic Convention.

With this action, the Senate has declared on behalf of the American
people that we simply will not tolerate the worst forms of child labor
-- child slavery, the sale or trafficking of children, child
prostitution or pornography, forced or compulsory child labor and
hazardous work that harms the health, safety and morals of children.
With this action, the United States continues as a world leader in the
fight to eliminate exploitative and abusive child labor. This also is
another important step forward in our continuing efforts to put a human
face on the global economy.

I am particularly gratified by the bipartisan unanimity that
carried this Convention through the Senate from introduction to final
approval. For this, I offer my sincere thanks to Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, Ranking Member Joe Biden, and
especially Senator Tom Harkin, who has been America's leading advocate
for the world's laboring children. I also want to make note of the
special efforts of the U.S. representatives to the ILO: John Sweeney of
the AFL-CIO, Thomas Niles of the United States Council for International
Business, and Labor Secretary Alexis Herman. They worked as a superb
team in negotiating a convention that should be widely ratified
throughout the world. Such bipartisan support and the coordinated
efforts of labor, business, and government are key to building a new
consensus on our approach to international economic policy.